The end of September marked the end of the third quarter so it was time to clean out the summer stuff and find some fall fashions. After a relatively cool summer and a sudden dose of fall here in Michigan, my closet got a little out of hand this time around.
My fall jackets crept in a little early but I wasn't quite willing to ditch the summer dresses yet. And finding something to wear on a casual weekend was almost impossible when the day started out around 45 degrees and ended up somewhere in the low 70's by the afternoon. Plus, I'm still picking away at our bedroom remodel so all of those items are stashed in the bottom of the closet. I was really glad that it was time to clean out and start over.
Like before, I started by emptying everything out of the closet. Anything I didn't wear over the last three months went directly into the donate pile. Items that were 100% summer items, that did get worn throughout the last quarter, went into the pack away for next summer pile. Then I went through what I had left and picked items I wanted to keep for fall.
After that, I went to the "second closet" that I'm attempting to eliminate and went through any summer items left in there that didn't get worn and added those to the donate pile. I also picked through any fall/winter items and if I didn't feel like I wanted to add them to my select 33 items, I left them alone. I didn't want to get rid of them yet because, sometimes, the items I pick just don't work or I don't like them as much as I thought I did and I end up trading something out.
I also did something different this time around. I hung my 33 selected items in the closet backwards. In other words, instead of hanging the hanger on the bar the normal way, I turned the hanger around and hung it backwards. As I wear things, I will put the hanger back the normal way. If, at the end of this quarter, there are any items still on backwards hangers, I know for sure that I never wore that item and I can certainly get rid of it.
In the end, I had a decent donate pile and a small box of summer stuff to store until next year.
This quarter is a bit more exciting because it's the last quarter of the project. At the end of the year, I will have cycled through my entire wardrobe and I will have a really good idea of what items to keep and what items to add to the last donate pile (which should be pretty big). My ultimate goal is to easily fit my entire wardrobe into one closet and to love everything that I own.
Throughout this process, it has become very clear what staple items I wear very often. This helps me when I go shopping because I know if I want to buy a pair of work pants for example, spending a bit on a really nice pair of black pants will pay off because I wear my black dress pants every week.
I've set my goal for this project and I've also set a reward for myself. At the end of this process, I really want to add a built-in closet organizer to the closet, treat myself to all new matching hangers (that might sound crazy, but it helps in keeping a neat and organized closet), and add a few new items to my wardrobe.
If you want to learn more about Project 333 and start an exciting wardrobe purge yourself, click here. Happy fall to you all!
How do you keep your wardrobe organized and manageable? Have you put away your summer stuff yet?
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My wardrobe needs a clean out big time. I just waiting for a good chunk of time to attack it. I like the backwards hanger idea. I've heard of it before but have never done it, so yours is a good reminder.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Caitlin! I never seem to have enough time to really go through my clothes either. I think that's why this year long project is working so well for me.
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